Emil und die Detektive

A respectable and watchable film.

I do feel 'Emil and the Detectives' could've been bigger and better, there's a load of good ingredients there. With that said, it is still a film that has its pluses. One is how it looks, with cool shots of 1960s Berlin. Another is the humour which is pretty solid.

The cast is where it gets underwhelming, not in terms of the actors but just in regards to the characters and their respective developments. Heinz Schubert, Walter Slezak and Peter Ehrlich are suitable choices to portray Grundeis, The Baron and Müller. However, they never really get out of second gear. I personally wanted more from the trio.

Then you have the child actors, for which there are many - probably too many as none of them, aside from Emil (Bryan Russell) and Gustav (Roger Mobley), get much development or even serious screen time.

As for the premise, it's entertaining. Like with what I've already noted, it's all just a bit safe and mild. It definitely could've been greater. I still had a fun enough time with this, though.

First saw this in a movie theater when I was 11 years old and just saw it again this week on Turner Classic Movies. It made a big impression on me when I was a kid and I'm pleased the experience stood up. Understand that this is completely a kids movie. The characters are very broad and actually quite cartoonish (though the same could be said for Quentin Tarantino movies). Gender stereotypes are consistent with the period. The plot is wildly implausible, like many children's books, but who cares?

So what did I like about it so much? All the main actors had charisma to spare and the minor actors were quirky and more than a little unusual. Bryan Russell and Walter Slezak are particular favorites. Though I hardly understood World War II as a child I now appreciate seeing Berlin less than 20 years after that war ended. And the attitudes towards Germany at this time. The photography is vividly colorful and flattering to Berlin. The bouncy score is happy-making and infectious. Mostly, I loved the sense of ebullient, delirious adventure and camaraderie among the detectives. Really echoes my idea of the limitless adventure of childhood at its best. Bravo!

I stumbled on this entry and was glad I did! I recall watching this when it was broadcast on "Disney's Wonderful World of Color" in September 1966 when I was five and have never seen it since. I recall the Berlin locations and being fascinated by the entire enterprise. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I saw it now, but I recalled liking it as a kid.

"Emil and the Detectives" is the type of kids adventure stories that Walt Disney Studios made several of in the 1950s and 1960s. They were always fun and somewhat interesting, though no one ever thought any real harm would come to the heroes. Still they could keep kids on the edge of their seats at times.

This is a fun family film that youngsters especially should enjoy. Although older kids who are addicted to video games and non-stop action films will have to learn how to sit still to enjoy it.

The only actor of any note in this film is Walter Slezak, an Austrian-born character actor who played in dramas, thrillers and comedies. He will be most familiar for his roles in films about WW II when he usually played German officers or high-ranking officials.

Bryan Russell was a fine young actor, playing Emil in this film. But he made only one movie after this, and after a TV series in the mid-1960s, he quit acting.

An interesting aside in this film was its shooting locations in Germany. This was 1964, and it shows some of the rubble yet from World War II. I can attest to that fact, having served in the U.S. Army in Germany from 1962 to October of 1964. I was stationed near Mainz, Germany, and that city still had partial blocks in rubble that had not yet been cleaned up and rebuilt.

While Walt Disney began his film-making dynasty with Mickey Mouse and animated films, Disney moved into real-life film later. He developed a mixed genre that incorporated some animation within live action film. A classic example of that was "Mary Poppins."

I wasn't too sure at the beginning but it got better and better. If you like Home Alone you should like this. Classic Disney comedy.